拮据 (jié jū) — short of money; hard up; financially strained

Definition

Examples

• 他最近手头很拮据，连房租都付不起了。
  Tā zuì jìn shǒu tóu hěn jié jū, lián fáng zū dōu fù bù qǐ le.
  He is very short of money lately—can't even afford the rent.
• 经济不景气，许多家庭都感到拮据。
  Jīng jì bù jǐng qì, xǔ duō jiā tíng dōu gǎn dào jié jū.
  With the economic downturn, many families are feeling financially strained.
• 自从失业以后，他的生活一直很拮据。
  Zì cóng shī yè yǐ hòu, tā de shēng huó yì zhí hěn jié jū.
  Since losing his job, his life has been very hard up.

Origin